Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Dirty Dogs, dog, Dog photographs, Mud on January 26, 2014| 3 Comments »
After my last post, I’ve received some wonderful shots of EVEN muddier dogs than Little Bear and Annie!
Do you have a dirtier dog?
Thanks so much for sharing your pictures. If you’d like to add a mud mug shot to the rogues gallery you can email your picture to thelittlebeardogblog@googlemail.com
Queen of the Labrapotami, Bella.
Bella at the mud wallow
Bonnie
Paddy
Paddy looking proud of his paint job
Mud? What mud? Bichon brothers Louis & Archie in their mud proof onesies.
Lilly
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Christmas, Dog Rescue, Labrador, Labrador Rescue, Love, Play, Puppies, Toys on December 23, 2013| 1 Comment »
A bit blurred because she wouldn’t keep still long enough.
This will be Annie’s fourth Christmas with us. The drama that surrounded her arrival is still so vivid in my mind that it seems hard to believe it was more than three and a half years ago.
The shut down, terrified, flea ridden dog that wouldn’t come out from under the dining table for three days is thankfully, nowhere to be seen these days. To say that she’s blossomed is an understatement of grand proportions.
The real Annie was in evidence yesterday as my mother arrived for Christmas. The dogs excitement was so off the scale that I have thought about not giving them their Christmas treats this year but instead sticking a bow on ‘grandma’ as by all accounts she’s all the present they need.
To see Annie take her new soft toy then steal Little Bear’s too and refuse all of his attempts to take it back was such a joy. That she was enjoying her new gift was obvious by the frantic wagging, but to us it was a sign of just how far this girl has come. There was a time not so long ago when she’d only take a toy to please you, but obviously had no idea what to do with it.
As Dog Rescues all over the country brace themselves for the influx of the Christmas puppies that will, with depressing predictability, be dumped upon them in the weeks and months ahead, I hope anyone looking for a dog will first consider a rescue. A dog like our Annie who far from being broken, just needed a chance to be loved.
And so to bed. Annie and her new toy.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Clicker training, dog behaviour, dog training, Dogs, Labrador, Mini Schnauzer, positive reinforcement, Reactive dogs on September 23, 2013| 1 Comment »
Little Bear takes a break during our solo walk
If you have more than one dog, chances are you probably walk them together. I actually still recall the “Walking two dogs is no more work than walking one” argument I used as part of my case for a double dog household. Oh foolish fool, how wrong could I have been?!
The reality is, if you have reactive dogs like ours, combined walks can sometimes do more harm than good.
Tipping point
Just like us, all dogs have a tipping point. Now for your laid back, confident pooch the circumstances needed to reach that tipping point might never ever arise but for the nervous, under-confident dog the line between calm, rational thought and an emotional, amygdala driven outburst is always that much finer.
In the fourteen years we had our beloved Springer Spaniel, I only once saw him aggress and that was when a Rottweiler jumped into our garden and cornered him in the yard. Even our sweet old gent found his tipping point that day and acted to defend himself much to our utter amazement.
For reactive dogs like Bear and Annie, their equivalent of a Rottweiler over the garden wall can be as seemingly benign as a dog on a lead 300 yards away. Through an unfortunate mix of temperament, experience (and lack of it), they see threats where there are none. But when they bark and lunge, it’s out of the same fear my old Springer felt all those years ago, it’s just that their tipping points aren’t as obvious to us.
A life lived in fear
They say a life lived in fear is a life half lived and this can certainly be the reality for many dogs. On Little Bear’s scary list were: bikes, skateboards, other dogs, horses, velcro (?!) and thunderstorms to name but a few. A walk invariably encountered at least one of the things and so for a long time, practically every trip out of the door would mean he’d end up in a frenzy of fearful barking and lunging.
Positive reinforcement
Over the years we’ve worked to raise his tipping point to a more comfortable level. Armed with clicker and treats (and a swift and unapologetic about turn if we spot something that I know he won’t cope with) we’ve slowly built up his tolerance to the point that he can now see a dog across the street and remain calm enough to sit and get a treat for his non-reaction.
Bikes and skateboards no longer get a second look thanks to the same positive reinforcement and he can walk past a field of horses without batting an eyelash. That said, he has learned to flutter them a little in the hopes of a reward when he thinks he’s been especially good.
The key to the training has simply been to encourage him to feel differently about the things he was once afraid of. Get rid of the fear and the over-reaction just isn’t necessary anymore. Which brings me on to the need for solo walks.
Going solo
Part of the ethos of positive reinforcement is that dogs are alway set up to succeed. Considering his naturally anxious disposition, Little Bear has achieved a lot over the last few years which is why asking him to be cool, calm and collected while his best friend Annie is freaking out by his side is really a bridge too far.
So, as much as I love walking my dogs together, until he and Annie are at a similar level in terms of tipping points we’ll continue to walk them separately as often as we can. The good news is that judging by Annie’s progress, she’ll not be far behind him.
Posted in Uncategorized on August 26, 2013| 2 Comments »
Annie looking happy to be leaving the vets minus her leg plate
A few months after formally adopting Annie, she underwent a TPLO or a tibial-plateau-leveling osteotomy if you want to get technical.
We still don’t know if the ruptured cruciate ligament that necessitated it was the result of her bolt into the blue on that fateful first day, or due to a more chronic degeneration. Either way, we had a very lame dog and two options, one of which was utterly unthinkable.
After ruling out the local ‘specialist’ on the grounds that he had the bedside manner of a tree trunk, no apparent regard for an obviously terrified dog and some pretty outdated surgical methods, we booked an appointment with Noel Fitzpatrick.
That his first greeting was to Annie and not us was earned him point one. That half the consultation was done with him sitting on the floor with a handful of dog biscuits earned him a stack more.
Road to recovery
Annie’s bionic leg
A TPLO, although now routine, has a pretty lengthy recovery period. After all, it entails cutting away a chunk of the tibia to prevent the femur sliding down it when the dog puts weight on its knee. So darling Annie had six weeks crate rest, which for a young and active dog is pretty hard going. It was far from easy for us too as she woke us every three hours during the night because she was hurting, or because she had an itch she couldn’t scratch or was downright miserable. But we got through it because in our book, there just was no alternative.
Months later, with the crate returned and the buster collar consigned to the loft we were woken in the night by the most terrible howling. The emergency vet diagnosed a fit and it wasn’t until later that day that we spotted the real cause of her distress, a small deep wound on her inner thigh. Somehow, Annie had punctured the muscle around the metal plate that was holding her leg together. The pain must have been unbearable for this stoical little dog to be so consumed by it.
Plate In? Plate out?
The wound healed and then a few weeks later opened up again. For months we agonised over whether to take the now redundant plate out. Although the surgeon confirmed that she no longer needed it, we were concerned about yet another anaesthetic. Months went by with not a single incident and we started to relax and think that finally the area had built up enough scar tissue to protect the skin from knocks. But then, out of the blue it opened up again, but in two places this time. They were small, superficial wounds and aside from licking them, they didn’t seem to bother her, but they certainly bothered us.
Screw up
Leaving a dog at the vets for an operation is never much fun. Leaving a dog so nervous she’s shaking from temple to tail is no fun at all. So imagine the fury when we get a call from the vet to say that after opening her up, he was unable to take the plate out because the original surgeon put two different types of screw into the leg but only told him about one.
Poor Annie was stitched up and sent home only to have to return two days later to have it done all over again, but this time with the benefit of two specialist screwdriver heads instead of the one.
I’m still grateful to Fitzpatrick Referrals for the work they did to help Annie. There are many vets out there who could learn a thing or two about putting their canine patients first, but the fact that Annie was put through two anaesthetics in two days due to such a basic blunder makes my blood boil.
The good news is that she’s making a great recovery and as the picture above shows, she seems very happy to finally be rid of the plate that once held her together. Here’s hoping that we can now, finally draw a line under the Annie’s leg saga.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged agility, Clicker training, Confidence, dog behaviour, Dogs, dogs and summer, keeping dogs cool, Mini Schnauzer, nervous dogs, Resilience, summer, video on July 28, 2013| 3 Comments »
Little Bear finds a shady spot
When it’s hot its hard to keep dogs properly exercised without the risk that they’ll over-heat. Little Bear especially finds the warm weather quite tough and although he knows his limits, it still leaves us with a problem: One very bright, very active little dog who has no outlet for all his get up and go. As we know ourselves, being happily tired after a good workout is very different to the lethargy that sets in when it’s just too hot to move.
Putting the fun back
So this morning , before the day had chance to hot up, we booked the local agility course with a friend of ours. LB has done agility before. We had a couple of one-to-one lessons and then joined a group class. Given his anxiety levels, the group class was incredibly challenging, but he coped admirably and seemed to forget about the other dogs once he was doing the course.
Teaching resilience
He’s loved agility from the off and proved that although he wasn’t built for speed or endurance, he’s a brave little chap. To my utter amazement he tackled a full height A frame on his first ever session (see the video here).
Taking a break at the end of the session
I was reminded of this today as he lost his footing on the walkway but pressed on regardless. Then again when he misjudged a jump and took a tumble. He picked himself up and with a bit of lighthearted encouragement took the same jump again and again as if to prove it hadn’t beaten him.
Building confidence
Nervous dogs usually lack confidence and depending on their temperament, use either aggression or retreat (fight or flight) as their only means of coping with the things that scare them. Watching LB face his fears today and overcome them so swiftly was a timely reminder of how I need to be constantly finding ways to build his confidence and boost his resilience. The other bonus is that before the sun had had a chance to take too much of a hold, Annie and Bear were back home, happily tired, mentally stimulated and quickly snoozing.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Dogs, Kong, summer on July 7, 2013| 4 Comments »
The UK is currently enjoying a rare and much needed heat wave. After a wash out summer last year and what felt like a perpetual winter, to be able to bask in temperatures hovering around 28 degrees is a special kind of delight. That is, unless you’re a dog.
Annie has approached it as she does most things, with an accepting wag. Little Bear on the other hand is just short of writing to his MP to complain. He hates the heat and I’m sure is dreaming of snow, (the only sort of weather he seems to enjoy) in those foot twitching, lip quivering sleeps only dogs seem capable of.
In an attempt to cheer him up I gave them a frozen Kong stuffed with dog food. Annie got the idea right away while Bear was a little more perplexed bless him.
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Dogs, Emergency vet, Mini Schnauzer, Vet on May 6, 2013| 8 Comments »
Little Bear snoozing
The good news is that after frightening us all half to death, Little Bear is making a good recovery. A third X-ray on Saturday revealed that things were moving as they should be through his intestine which rules out any kind of obstruction and as he was eating and generally brighter he was allowed home on Saturday afternoon!
He’s not yet back to his old self, but compared to the pitiful little dog we took to the emergency vet on Wednesday night, he’s miles better. We took him on a short walk yesterday evening and although he enjoyed his runabout, he abruptly ran out of steam meaning I had to carry him part of the way home. I swear I started off carrying a Mini Schnauzer and ended up with a Newfoundland by the time I reached the front door!
He’s still taking antibiotics and has easy to digest prescription food until we get the results of the blood work back in a few days. So we’re taking it easy, letting him sleep as much as possible and generally just keeping an eye on him. The most important thing is that he’s here, he’s well and he’s getting better by the day.
Posted in Uncategorized on May 3, 2013| 7 Comments »
Little Bear is still at the vets. His second night after an early hours dash to the emergency service yesterday.
We picked him up at 7.30am to transfer him to our regular vet. He managed a few wags when he saw me but was very subdued and wobbly.
At midday the vet said he was lethargic, depressed and refusing food. X-ray showed a large body of gas has moved through the gut from last night which is good news and even better, he doesn’t seem to think its pancreatitis, although we’ll need to wait for the blood results.
What we still don’t have though is an explanation for what did cause the vomiting, diarrhoea and severe abdominal pain. More X-rays tomorrow will hopefully shed a little more light.
He perked up in time for my visit at 3pm and decided to eat on condition I fed it to him by hand 🙂
He’s still a very poorly pup but I’m hoping tomorrow will bring more good news.
Night night my Little Bear. Mamma loves you. Xxx
Posted in Uncategorized on May 3, 2013| 7 Comments »
Little Bear is at the emergency vet. It’s 2am and we’re waiting for them to call with news.
I took him to our regular vet this evening because of a bout of sickness and diarrhoea and he was due back in the morning for an X-ray.
He deteriorated this evening though and developed acute abdominal pain.
Handing him over to be admitted was just awful, but at least they’ll be able to make him feel more comfortable and run tests to work out what’s wrong.
I feel sick to my core waiting for the phone to ring.
Please send prayers for my Little Bear.
Posted in Dogs, Uncategorized, tagged Banned breed, Caesar Milan, Craigslist, Dangerous Dogs Act, dog, dog behaviour, Dog Bites, Dog Breeders, Dog legislation, Jade Lomas-Anderson, Lennox, Pre-loved on March 30, 2013| 1 Comment »
Lennox, guilty of nothing but looking like a banned breed was taken from his family, kept in awful conditions for 2 years & killed by Belfast Council in questionable circumstances.
When I was about eight I was nearly bitten by an English Springer Spaniel. Thinking him to be just like my best friend at home, I reached down to tickle him but he growled and lunged at me. I got the shock of my life, but I also learned a couple of very valuable lessons 1) always ask before approaching a dog you don’t know and 2) don’t think breed is an indicator of temperament.
Last week, 14-year-old Jade Lomas-Anderson was killed by four dogs at a friend’s house in Wigan, UK. Horrifying and heart-breaking, it’s hard imagine losing a child so young, yet alone in such circumstances.
Media speculation
Predictably, the news reports, still waiting for confirmation of the facts, started speculating on whether any of the dogs responsible were from a banned breed. When it emerged that they weren’t, the flames of speculation were duly fanned by the suggestion that Bull Mastiffs and Staffordshire Bull Terriers should be added to the list.
Genius idea. Dog bites have actually risen by 41% since the Dangerous Dog Act was introduced according to HES so on what planet does this sort of thinking make any sense? I was enraged, not just because I’m a dog lover, but by the laziness of the reporting. A beautiful young girl had been killed in appalling circumstances and they had rolled out the usual lazy, hackneyed tripe about banned breeds. It’s akin to obsessing about the make of car involved in a hit and run and not tackling the real issue of who was behind the wheel.
Breed myopia
The elephant in the room here is that by focussing so myopically on breed we’re totally missing the point. Would our children be safer if we told them it was okay to talk to strangers just so long as they weren’t French, or Greek or any other arbitrary classification? Of course not.
As I found out all those years ago, any dog is capable of biting, just like any human is capable of harming another. To keep people safe we need to educate them on how to treat dogs ethically and how to meet their needs – for exercise, training, socialisation and security to name but a few, but while any moron can knock out a litter of puppies in their garden shed to earn a few quid and while utter garbage like Caesar Milan is allowed to pass for national dog training, is there any wonder that we have damaged and fearful dogs out there and owners without the first clue of how to properly care for, train and manage them?
State sponsored lunacy
That the media and government compound this lunacy by suggesting that eradicating some breeds of dog will magically solve the issue is just beyond comprehension. We do need tougher laws, but they should be around the strict control of the breeding of all dogs. Licence all breeders and stamp out the quick buck mentality fuelled by the likes of Craigslist and PreLoved that provide an easy market for flogging puppies like second-hand sofas.
When we declared a war on drugs we went for the source and we educated people so why not take the same approach with dogs? Our rescue centres are bursting at the seams and according to Dogs Trust, nearly 8,000 are killed every year by local authorities and other ‘rescues’ due to a lack of homes which is a disgusting waste of life and should be a point of national shame.
When dogs can’t be bought online, in pubs and out of the boots of cars, there’ll be more opportunity for licensed breeders and rescue organisations to vet would-be owners and to educate and support them to raise their dogs in a responsible manner.
Breed specific legislation has done nothing to keep people safe and adding to it will be a pointless waste of time and public money. It will also bring untold heartache for thousands of committed and responsible dog owners all over the country and allow the backstreet breeders to continue to peddle their misery. Enough is enough.
You can find out more about the story of Lennox and the lunacy of Breed Specific Legislation here
The Little Bear Dog Blog 